The gardens were started in 1978 with a few pansies between some rocks (Patten Hill has rock ledge close to the surface. That is why the house is built on a cement slab and does not have a cellar). In 1980 the gardens took on the final form that is seen now. The front beds, edged with Goshen Stone, help set the image that the house creates. An effort has been made to use a variety of plants, trees and shrubs in order to have shapes and swatches of color in keeping with the scale of the house.

Glenn Ridler envisioned borders of the gardens and Christine Baronas creates within them. After almost 30 years, Christine now has something in bloom throughout the seasons - from daffodils in April through the hardy mums of October. Reminiscent of a cottage garden, the beds are naturalized and allowed to evolve as biennials and spreading perennials come up each spring. Annuals are planted each summer to assure color.

Most of the plants came from the gardens of family members and friends, and the display continues to grow. In the garden bed on the sunny side of the lawn, purple Siberian iris formed a large, striking display during June. It started from a single clump discarded in 1979 by a neighbor of Christine's father. In 2005 a backhoe was required to thin them. A rose bush in that sunny lawn garden came from the field across the street where there was a house many years ago. There is a small alpine garden behind the house created by Glenn and Christine's daughter Morgan.